College Basketball: Creighton clobbers St. Joseph's

OMAHA, Neb. -- Saint Joseph's second meeting with a Top 25 opponent didn't go nearly as well as the first.

Doug McDermott scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half, and No. 11 Creighton rode a fast start to an 80-51 victory over the Hawks Saturday.

Gregory Echenique added 16 points and six rebounds for the Bluejays (7-1), who bounced back after being upset by Boise State Wednesday.

Langston Galloway scored 10 points to lead the Hawks (4-2), who played their first true road game.

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It also was their first ranked opponent since they beat then-No. 20 Notre Dame, 79-70, in overtime Nov. 16.

"Now we have some good food for thought," St. Joe's head coach Phil Martelli said. "Was it the road? Was it the way we practiced? We have to look at everything there for improvement. We walk out with our head down over getting whipped, but we don't walk with our head down and say, 'Woe is us, that's the end.'"

Saint Joseph's season-scoring leader Carl Jones, who had 29 points in a win over Creighton last season, was held to nine.

The Bluejays played their best half of the season and led 47-20 after breaking the game open with 12- and 13-point runs. They shot 57 percent, had assists on 13 of their first 17 field goals, and converted 10 turnovers into 16 points.

Martelli took a couple timeouts to try to stem Creighton's momentum, but nothing seemed to work.

"In those situations where there's an onslaught, you are just trying to get your feet underneath you and win the next four minutes," he said. "I believe you can look into an eye and know what's in a heart. There were some of our eyes, they're looking at me like, 'Coach, fix this, fix this.' I can't fix it at that point. I can shake it, twist it, whatever word you want to use. You're not going to fix it if a guy's ball isn't dropping."

Saint Joseph's shot 30 percent in the first half and a season-low 38 percent for the game. The Hawks committed a season-high 17 turnovers in their most lopsided loss since a 95-58 defeat at Charlotte in February 2010.